[attr="class","eris99"]

A MILLION MILES AWAY

[attr="class","eris100"][break]

[attr="class","eris109"]Remind her never to try balancing the sauces within a dish without Reiner around to taste test. At the very least, they gave her some pity points to remain... not last![break][break]

"What even is Unovan food?"[break][break]

Her little stepstool offers very little height for her to peek at other tables. All she can do is attempt to go off her senses: The sizzling meats on the pans, the crisping breads, that slight burn of melted cheese -[break][break]

"I don't think I could compete with a burger..." She frowns, looking to Nessie for ideas. And the little Wooper simply smiles back, proudly juggling a few eggs with the tip of their tail.[break][break]

"Eggs, huh?" Grabbing a pot of water, she begins to salt it and heat the stove. "I guess we can try poaching some eggs? And you can go grab some bacon!"[break][break]

This is it, a plan in formation! Eggs benedict, a dish she's seen at that cafe in town every time she runs by during brunch! Crafted from nothing but a faint thought and no certainty that it even classifies as Unovan.[break][break]

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SQTDBkdW (+12)

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A MILLION MILES AWAY

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Quiet gasps punctuate her every step, a frantic fight against the world to grasp any bit of air and shove it right in her lungs. Chaos bears down upon her like a winter wind, chilling her to the very bone as she breaks and stumbles around each corner.[break][break]

It'll take them.[break]

[break]

Where are they? Met with wave after wave of Rockets, she's been turned around one too many times just trying to avoid them. And it's taken Reiner damn near all of him to keep her from simply attempting to crash through danger searching from them. Every tug on her arm telling her they need to take another detour, every growl of warning earning yet another look of frustration as she forces herself into another alley.[break][break]

We're losing so much time.[break][break]

And yet, it's highly likely that she'd lose so much more than just time if they attempted to fight at any point. Even through the bitter tempest that twists and curls in her soul, she can at least grasp that much logic as she peers around the next corner.[break][break]

All clear! Or so that mischievous little Ralts seems to chirp as they finally appear in a flutter of pink.[break][break]

"You've found them?"[break][break]

Like a little glimpse of light in this hell, their trill affirms her very thoughts. As the trio duck across the street with bated breath, the disguised pixie rests upon Reiner's head and begins to direct without leaving any room for debate. Through the small gaps in bent wired fences, wearing the shadows as she slips past yet another patrol of Rockets, her mind whirs with a faint thought as something about their visage strikes her as familiar.[break][break]

A soft grunt. When she's pulled back into reality, she is gifted a small glimpse of purple running through the streets.[break][break]

"Cass...?"

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[attr="class","eris99"]

A MILLION MILES AWAY

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[attr="class","eris109"]This power feels far from her own. Confusion rolls off @howard in waves, but her mind is far more focused on the Golurk: Much like how a cat ravenously eyes a laser pointer on the wall.[break][break]

It's gonna shoot -[break][break]

She knows better than to wait for that wind-up. A sharp whistle accompanies her dive, Kulve pausing for a moment in his sprint to slam his whole weight into the ground. As he does, Stone Edges erupt from the sands, pillar after pillar rising to absorb the blow of the energy beam.[break][break]

"Navy! Jump!"[break][break]

And right before the Golurk, the ground begins to rumble, a boulder shot right out of the ground and aimed right at its chest. It's a singular moment, but even a moment of the giant stumbling spells a big chance for them. Her grip on the red chain tightens, her hands rapping the shell of the Torterra.[break][break]

"Keep pulling!"[break][break]

FTFIEH0L (+20 Support +5 Redirect)

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[attr="class","eris99"]

A MILLION MILES AWAY

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[attr="class","eris109"]Truth be told, she's a little intimidated as to how fast everyone seems to be diving right into their cooking. After all, every second counts in a competition like this. As she waddles to her own work bench, she's glad (but also simultaneously upset) to see that they've placed a stepstool right there for her.[break][break]

"I ain't that short..." She murmurs, looking to her little Wooper buddy that's decided to accompany her for this culinary conquest. Nessie smiles wide like a Ditto, idly swaying side to side in such a fluid manner that Eris has to stop and wonder if she's really looking at a Wooper and not a mischievous copy.[break][break]

Ah, but she needs to focus! A Kanto dish? Chazuke, curry rice, tamagoyaki... What should she even make to present to the judges? Will they even like what she makes? A dish from home, a dish from home...[break][break]

"Ah, I guess I could try that."[break][break]

Potatoes, onions, carrots, beans, thin sliced beef. Maybe some shirataki noodles? Oh, and she can't forget to grab the sauces for the stock! As she juggles all these ingredients back to her bench, she's already muttering the steps to herself over and over. Cut the vegetables, fry the onions and beef...[break][break]

The condiments are somewhat of a mystery to her.[break][break]

"How much of each did momma put?"[break][break]

Nessie looks at her with wide eyes, ready to tip a bottle of mirin right into the pot. This contest sure won't let her look up any recipes to check, so all she can do is follow her gut instincts and sense of taste to balance it out![break][break]

hLYn3Axi

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A MILLION MILES AWAY

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[attr="class","eris109"]Shipwrecks have always fascinated this little adventurer. From the stories that once accompanied her every voyage to the ones that were now intertwined with her broken body, each ship is a treasure trove in and of itself. A tale of warning to be shared with those who wish to brave the seas, a tale of pure wonder that might just lull her to sleep.

A rusted exit sign rattles along the shore, the hungering waves always licking but never seeming strong enough to swallow it whole. Kneeling down, she reaches for it with her hands, sharply pulling back when the metal begins to rattle for no reason. And before she can even react, a Wimpod jumps right out, squealing before it makes a hasty retreat back into the ocean's loving embrace.[break][break]

"Huh."[break][break]

The Luxray behind her hisses a little as he tries to shake his ruffled fur out.[break][break]

gzrLxctu

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[attr="class","eris99"]

A MILLION MILES AWAY

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[attr="class","eris109"]"I don't need you." Her blade may dull but her tongue doesn't. "We as a region survived because there was no other choice but to band together to save it. But as soon as it ends, we all go back to fighting one another.[break][break]

He still isn't looking at her.[break][break]

"I don't care who else you wronged."[break][break]

He still doesn't see her.[break][break]

"What do I have to gain? From taking the life of someone who could go around hurting way more people over some damn god?! Gods don't fucking care if we die!"[break][break]

A champion? Willing to lay his life to protect Hoenn? What is she supposed to care about any of that? This region will still march on with or without him alive.[break][break]

"But I do. I care if you'll go on to hurt more people like me. If taking your life means a safer tomorrow... For me, for so many others."[break][break]

Even now, he's unable to let go. He's off praying to some god that may listen in for their own amusement, but not much more. He who would preach to her as if he's doing her a service by forgiving her here.[break][break]

"So tell me."[break][break]

Where hesitance and grief chip at her blade, a newfound wellspring of smouldering anger begins to mold and sharpen it once more. She feels so breathless, as if the words that torch her tongue are a sacred prayer of her own.[break][break]

"What is it that truly matters to you?"

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A MILLION MILES AWAY

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[attr="class","eris109"]Numerous jaws open and close, all at their own pace, all out of sync with the syllables she hears. Sharp fangs, teeth worn down to the bones. Some crooked, some missing. And those eyes that look at anywhere but her. All red, unblinking. Just like a shapeless, hungry monster that you'd find lurking in the depths of a holy sanctuary.[break][break]

Crazy, she had called him. So delusional that Raikou would never choose him. Those words that had drawn him into a frenzy are stuck between her teeth, repeatedly raking at her throat as that same riptide of emotions she'd felt that day.[break][break]

"Don't you dare speak his name."[break][break]

Her saviour. Her brightest light. Her dearest brother. To hear that name drawn upon Josh's breath makes her wish she could scrub that mouth clean. And yet, Isaac Merlo had one of the purer souls in this forsaken region. It sounded just like him to help even Josh, especially if they had some kind of bond way before then.[break][break]

Her head tilts, as if framing his face at a different angle might help her establish the fact that there's actually a person under that horrible amalgamation of shadows and eyes.[break][break]

"Why do you get to be so calm? Why do you get to beg me for help?"[break][break]

The shoulder, the stomach, any four of his limbs. All places where she and Reiner had been stitched together again. All places that gnaw with a dull ache.[break][break]

[break]

Standing here, with a knife carefully held above her head, she can almost hear him, heavy upon her shoulders.[break][break]

[break]

Being better is for those who can afford it, for those who have the strength and the will to rise above all. She is nothing like Navy.[break][break]

Her hand lowers, the tip of cold steel ever so carefully rests on the centre of his chest. A threat that shivers, a promise that has yet to be forged in its entirety. In a space that is bound to disappear when they wake up, she is nothing without this knife she rests over Josh's chest.[break][break]

"Why?"[break][break]

Everything is wrong.[break]

Everything is wrong.

everything is wrong.

[break]

This knife that begins to shiver and chip at the edges, fine cracks streaking its surface like the tears that line her cheeks. She can feel that same pressure pressing against her own spine, threatening to pierce her right through if she dares take that step. And she shudders, sobs, chokes on her very own breath.[break][break]

"What gives you any right to ask me for help? After what you did?!"

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A MILLION MILES AWAY

[attr="class","eris100"][break]

[attr="class","eris109"]Every smile he gives her grants her a bit more confidence to continue, to prod a little further into the unknown. He lives in a completely different world than she does, sees a much larger picture than she does each day. And in the moment, all that runs through her head is -[break][break]

"How do you make your decisions?"[break][break]

For once, she's looking at him, piecing him together with curiosity rather than a layer of fear. Much like how Reiner has been watching him all this time.[break][break]

"Razz once told me that meetings are super messy and stuff... so how does anything get decided properly?"

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A MILLION MILES AWAY

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[attr="class","eris109"]Navy hops on without much effort, and not a moment too soon as the dunes hunger and snap at brittle bones. Pissed as the Golurk may be, it seems to be slowing, showing way more weakness than before. And that glyph... If they just make that giant fall. But how will they -[break][break]

One glance at her hands, nothing shimmers or glows. There's no power that runs through those veins. At least, not yet.[break][break]

"I can do it." Her whispers are a mere rustle against the roar of sand and giant. "Kulve."[break][break]

The Torterra grunts. There is a madness that cannot be denied.[break][break]

"The symbols! On the shoulder!"[break][break]

The men here are capable, they'll catch on. Right now, her main focus should be on remembering that sensation.[break][break]

"C'mon..." A hand out towards the titan, their towering figure blotted out by her palm. "C'mon... work with me."[break][break]

How'd she do it? That feeling she had grasped each time? Fear? Determination? That sensation that stems from the chest like Hideo Kino said? Purpose?[break][break]

We have to fell this giant.[break][break]

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"FUCK!"[break][break]

Red blooms from a wellspring of pressure, a crackling surge of psychic energy that wraps around the Golurk's leg and the Torterra's belly, linking the two with a mighty bond.[break][break]

"KULVE! PULL!"[break][break]

Taking one lumbering step forward, he roars and begins to pull with an almighty Trailblaze. And she too, despite knowing that she might not contribute much, grabs onto the red chain and pulls.[break][break]

FwknmYBn (+10 Shift)

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